My Home-grown Journey

notenoughcash

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Scotsaver, I have just come to the point of growing all year round. I used to only grow over the summer, but I get so depressed stuck indoors over the winter I decided to put some winter veg in to give me the motivation to get outside in the colder months. Also I can get impatient and when you don't start sowing til feb and then don't see results until may I can get frustrated, but this way there's always something going on to keep me busy and well fed!

kazzy, the best thing I would suggest is to start small and see how well you get on with it, but I reckon once you get the bug there will be no stopping you! Go to wilkinsons and look for seed potatoes called first earlies to start you off (there's also second earlies and maincrop but you can move on to those later) You can grow them in lots of things that will cost you nothing such as an old broken bucket or plastic kitchen bin, an empty compost sack or rubble sack, anything you can put drainage in and can fill up with soil really. You need to 'chit' your seed potatoes first (put them in an egg box until they start sprouting) then put them in the bottom of whatever you are growing in and cover with compost. When the leaves start growing through keep topping the container up a little at a time with compost until it is full. then once they have flowered and the leaves begun to die off the potatoes are ready. For the first few weeks they are ready you can just lift however many you need each time, just stick your hand into the compost and have a feel around, and if you keep sowing potatoes three weeks apart you will have a good fresh supply. I store mine over the winter in a potato sack in my garden shed as it is cool, dry and airy and they last a few months. Just dig a small area to start with in your garden and put in a few peas or runner beans, or have loads of pots this year. then if you want to do more next year you can. At least then if you decide it's not for you there won't be a big patch of garden to repair!!

jintyb

I would like to grow some stuff in pots/containers this year. Ive never grown any veg before although I love my garden.I was thinking of doing spuds( mashers and new ) salad leaves and tomatoes. I dont know where to get them or when to plant. I would appreciate any advice ............PLEASE!!!!

SuzieMum

Jinty - for a quick start just go in to somewhere like Wilko's and read each seed packet, they have explanations on the back. Tomatos are easy, potatos too but need quite a lot of space. Lettuce is easy peasy lemon squeezy. Sow your tomatos indoors until they get a bit big and then they can go outside into pots or gro bags when the frost has passed and it's a bit warmer out there.
Can we get photos on to here? Ive got some nice ones of my seedlings last year and then as everything was growing! Might help with some of the Q's.

Ive got maincrop potatos....Maris Piper. Any tips or hints for making them do well? I've just put them in the shed to chit but haven't covered them, its quite a light shed, should I make them a bit darker? If I put them in egg boxes should I put the lids on? thanks!

notenoughcash

Don't buy any new pots for starters, put the word out that you're starting a veggie growing venture.

You can grow potatoes in an old broken bucket or plastic kitchen bin, an empty compost sack or rubble sack, anything you can put drainage in and can fill up with soil really. You will be able to buy seeds from any garden centre/hardware store just shop a round to find the lowest price. You need to 'chit' your seed potatoes first (put them in an egg box until they start sprouting) then put them in the bottom of whatever you are growing in and cover with compost. When the leaves start growing through keep topping the container up a little at a time with compost until it is full and they are ready once leaves start dying off.

There will be instructions on the packets to give you the best advise on when to plant, some things can be set off indoors now. If you have a wilkinsons or instore near you they are probably your best bet.

Carrots are good in tubs too as the low flying carrot fly can't get to them.

kazzys51

whaaa!!! am so excited am writing my list now!!! thanks notenough cash- have you ever tried growing asparagus or am i being to adventurous for starting out? k

notenoughcash

Ha ha, I'm so glad I started this thread!!

suziemum I seem to have missed your post last night, it must have posted as I was typing and I never realised it was there! I usually close the lids on the egg boxes when chitting potatoes. I WILL figure out how to put photos on this week, especially as things look so bleak in the garden right now but will be so colourful soon. And I think everyone will be quite amused by my bedroom windowsill (makeshift mini green house for now)

kazzy I'm glad you are feeling so motivated! I have never tried asparagus but I may have a go at it. There's no such thing as too adventurous, aim for the moon! If it doesn't work properly this time, try it again next year. If you wash out an old margerine tub and keep your seeds in that in the fridge they'll last you two or three years, probably longer but just don't tend to be as successful after a while. The joy of this hobby is how hit and miss it can be and how much experimenting you can do. I start my peas off a bit earlier every year just to see how early I can get a crop. Last year half of them didn't germinate as it was too cold, but I just sowed more later on.

I've been to the local instore today and bought a bag of 75 onion sets for 99p and a pack of carrot seeds for 80p. Just need a spare day and some dry weather and I'll be off again!

huxley

Hi notenoughcash, the enthusiasm with which you write is very infectious:D . We are hoping to grow more this year, we have just got an allotment, well dh has actually he is trying to clear it at the moment! I have (had) a 8ft x6ft raised bed in the garden and an assortment of tubs for my veg, but he has his eye on it to raise plants (s.e. gardener wants more flowers!) so the deal is he has it if he helps me grow veg on allotment (dodgy health means I couldnt do it alone). We have just got a greenhouse for free to raise seedlings:D I highly reccomend freecycle for things at the moment we are trying to get hold of pallets to make compost bins also if you have a local LETS group, lots at ours grow there own so when I dont have any luck with raising some plants there is normally somone to trade with, or sometimes just to hire something like a wheelbarrow for moving muck about and as its LETS no cash needed:D I will be following your thread with much intrest:j

Leopardlady

Thanks so much notenoughcash! This thread is fantastic, i have been growing veg in pots and now in my garden for a few years, but this year i was feeling quite down about it all. Last year i lots most of my crops to slugs, caterpillars and blight, but this thread has re-awoken the spark, so as soon as i can sort it all out, i will be back out in my garden getting it ready for some manic planting

Thank you soo much.

notenoughcash

Hi all, I am hoping that I have got this right and managed to create links to a few of my pics! If so they should be as follows


http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww162/mrsvela_2009/PICT0069.jpg

My winter onions growing in my very bare winter garden (taken last week)

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww162/mrsvela_2009/PICT0068.jpg

My rather bare looking veg patch at the end of my garden ready to be filled with lovelies very soon

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww162/mrsvela_2009/PICT0016.jpg

The first 30 or so onions to come out of the garden last year. I hung them inside the shed door and they kept lovely.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww162/mrsvela_2009/PICT0018.jpg

Some self-seeded sunflowers that grew last summer, the boys couldn't believe they grew bigger than them!

Hopefully this has worked, if so I will take some more of my [STRIKE]greenhouse [/STRIKE]bedroom window and make-shift cold frame and keep you posted of the progress!

scotsaver

Hello again notenoughcash - thanks for the photos, gives us all a bit of a push to get motivated. I bought some more seeds today from Wilkinsons as they are 3 for 2 at the moment, got some Runner Beans, Onions and Swede, all for £1.80 which I thought was reasonable. I've definitely finished seed buying now as I've got 23 packets of Veg/Salad Leaves/Tomatoes to go in and that doesn't include the Seed Potatoes I bought last week!! I spent last night drawing up a rough plan of the Garden and have marked out where everything is going to go and I think I should just about be able to squeeze everything in - also planning to use a lot of large tubs to grow things and put on the Patio. Need to pay a visit to the Garden Centre this week to pick up some bags of Compost and then I can get started.

Thought I'd also mention that I picked up a tip on another thread somewhere that you can start off beans/peas in toilet roll tubes and then plant them straight in the ground as the tube composts down anyway - hope it works as I've been saving them for weeks.:cool: